An investigation into social work students’ attitudes towards people with mental illness in Greece

ABSTRACT Bachelor level social work students in Greece were surveyed to assess their attitudes towards the mentally ill in relation to their level of familiarity with mental illness, their demographics and study-related characteristics. The research sample included 370 students who completed a self-report questionnaire including sociodemographic data, the 40-item Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill scale (CAMI) and the 11-item Level of Familiarity Questionnaire. Results from analyses showed that the mean Familiarity index was significantly greater in third- and fourth-year students than in those attending the first and second years. Also, scores on Authoritarianism and Social restrictiveness decreased as the year of study increased. Familiarity index was significantly negatively correlated with both the Authoritarianism and Social restrictiveness dimensions. Increased age and year of studies were found to be positively correlated with Benevolence and Community mental health ideology scores. Furthermore, the Familiarity index was positively correlated with both Benevolence and Community mental health ideology dimensions. The results indicate that the year of studies and level of familiarity play a crucial role in students’ attitudes towards people with mental illness. Implications for additional research and education of bachelor level social work students are discussed.